Safety razor structure



July 13, 1937. STRAUSS 2,086,648

SAFETY RAZOR STRUCTURE Filed April 15, 1935 5 Sheets-Sheet l INVENTOR Luke J Scmuss,

ATTO N EYS July 13, 1937. "L, J, STRAUSS 2,086,648

SAFETY RAZOR STRUCTURE Filed April 15, 1955 5 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTOR I uko J. Strauss,

ATTO N EYS July 13, 1937. STRAUSS 2,086,648

SAFETY RAZOR STRUCTURE Filed April 15, 1935 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 INVENTOR 113M J .Smmss,

Patented July 13, 1937 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE 2,086,648 SAFETY RAZOR STRUCTURE Luke J. Strauss, Buffalo, N. Y.

Application April 15, 1935, Serial No. 16,472

7 Claims.

This invention relates to safety razors and it has particular relation to an improved arrangement of guard and blade holding head, together with an improved arrangement of blade structure and blade pack.

One object of the invention is to provide a simplified structure of safety razor and blade which can be manufactured relatively inexpensively.

Another object of the invention is to provide an arrangement of blade holding and guard bar structure, wherein movement of the safety razor parts into normal position for shaving automatically positions the guard bar in its protecting relation with reference to the razor blade.

Another object of the invention is to provide for packaging of safety razor blades in such manner as to obviate the former'practice of wrapping the individual blades in wax paper, again wrapping the blades in a cover for the wax paper and blade, and finally packaging the wrapped blades.

Another object of the invention is to provide a safety razor structure wherein all of the parts remain assembled upon removing a blade therefrom, thereby obviating the conventional practice of unscrewing and removing portions of the structure with the attendant likelihood of misplacing such portions.

Another object of the invention is to provide a hollow ground or permanent type of blade in a safety razor assembly and wherein provision is made for convenient presentation of the blade for purposes of sharpening without the guard bar interfering with the sharpening operations.

Another object of the invention is to provide an improved safety razor set including a device for dispensing blades from a strip supply.

In the type of arrangement involved in this invention the structure for holding the blade is such that an extremely simple form of blade can be used and of such size as to be at least onethird the Width of the conventional type of safety razor blade. It is not necessary to provide openings through the blade for the purpose of receiving portions of the parts of the blade holder therethrough as is the case in many of the conventional types of safety razor constructions. In fact, the arrangement of the elements of this invention is such that a blade one and one half inches long and one fourth of an inch wide, has been found to be entirely satisfactory. These blades can be manufactured in strip form with proper markings or scoring to indicate the division between individual blades and then wound in a coil for insertion into a small cylindrical container. Twenty-five to fifty or more blades can thus be packed in a cylindrical container and sold very inexpensively. p

This manner of manufacturing and packing blades provides for the cost reducing features of relatively small size, distributing in strip form, avoiding the wrapping and packaging of individual blades, treating the blades as a strip during sharpening and other processing. The razor and blades can very conveniently be packed in a single simple blade dispensing container, the dispensing portion of which can be replaced with additional supplies of coiled blades when the container requires replenishing.

In the drawings:

Fig. 1 is a side elevation of a safety razor constructed according to the invention;

Fig. 2 is a cross section taken substantially along the line II-II of Fig. 1;

Fig. 3 is a cross section taken substantially along the line IIIIII of Fig. 1;

Fig. 4 is a fragmentary perspective of a combined razor handle and blade guard;

Fig. 5 is a fragmentary side elevation of the head of the blade holder illustrating one method of manufacture;

Fig. 6 is a. side elevation of another form of razor structure including a combined handle and guard for accommodating a forged blade;

Fig. '7 is a cross section taken substantially along the line VII VII of Fig. 6;

Fig. 8 is a side elevation of another form of safety razor including an automatically adjustable guard for the forged blade;

Fig. 9 is an elevation of the back of the structure shown in Fig. 8;

Fig. 10 is a perspective of a hollow ground blade for the structure shown in Fig. 8;

Fig. 1l is a perspective of a blade guard for the structure shown in Fig. 8

Fig. 12 is a fragmentary cross section on a larger scale, taken substantially along the line XII--XII of Fig. 8.

Fig. 13 is a perspective of a shaving set with razor blades therein;

Fig. 14 is a vertical section taken substantially along the line XIVXIV of Fig. 13;

Fig. 15 is a plan of the inside portion of the structure shownin Fig. 13;

Fig. 16 isa fragmentary section similar to a portion of Fig. 14-and illustrating a different form of connection of a strip of blade in a blade container;

Fig. 1'7 is a fragmentary plan of a strip of blades;

Fig. 18 is a fragmentary plan of another form of strip blades.

Referring to Figures 1 to 5, a razor I0 is shown as including a handle ll having a blade holding head l2 rigid with the handle and, if desirable, composed of the same kind of material. The handle and the head can be manufactured in a single operation and it has been found that substance, such as bakelite or metal, can be utilized in casting or otherwise constructing these members.

The holder head i2 is provided with a slot l5 which is cut out by sawing or otherwise at an angle to the handle .for receiving a blade 11 in such position as to expose the cutting edge in projecting relation from the front of the holder head l2. The slot extends entirely through the head in order that it can be easily cleaned and that no lather or other foreign substance will tend to clog therein. Accordingly, only relatively small connecting portions 20 are necessary to space the upper and lower faces of the slot in rigid relation and to provide means for positioning the blade in the holder head as the rear portion of the blade abuts these portions.

As best shown in Fig. 5, the razor including the holder head i2 and handle II can be cast with the slot l5 therein formed relatively widely open to facilitate the casting operation. Then the jaws 22 of the holder head are pressed toward each other until the slot l5 assumes its proper width for receiving the blade i1 snugly therein. This process of forming the holder head together with the handle greatly simplifies the manufacturing of the razor, and the slot I5 does not necessarily extend through to the rear of the head.

A bar 25 which is provided as a part of thehandle Ii extends substantially from one end of the handle to the other and has a pivotal connection 26 intermediate its end upon a body of the handle. An upper end portion 21 of the bar is bent forwardly to support a guard 28 formed integrally and transversely thereof. Rearwardly extending arms 30 at opposite ends of the guard are movable into cut out portions 32 at opposite ends of the holder head i2. Lugs 33 having beveled converging edges are engageable with corresponding beveled edges 36 of the front corner portions of the blade l1 and hold the latter in proper position in the slot i5.

One of the arms 30 has a lateral lug 3i rigid therewith and formed with an upwardly inclined face 34 that provides a relatively sharp angle with the upper face of the adjacent body of the arm 30. The front of the lug 3| terminates adjacent the lug 33 and its rear portion has a downwardly sloped camming surface 31. Normally the end of the blade I! does not extend beyond the inner or lower .edge of the face 34 and the latter facilitates the proper positioning of the blade.

The blade can be manually inserted in the slot l5 and the bar 25 can then be pivoted to move the beveled edges 35 into engagement with the beveled edges 36 of the blade. In this position of the blade, a pair of shoulders 38 formed at the rear of the arms 30 snap behind the rear edge of the blade ll. By reference to Fig. 4, it will be apparent that the blade I! also can be placed upon the extensions 30 as shown in broken line of this figure and the bar then is pivoted to carry-the blade into the slot from the broken line position to the full line position shown in this figure. In removing the blade H from the slot IS, the thumb can be used to press upon the lug 39 formed upon the rear portion of the bar 35 and thus pivot the latter about the pin 26. Only very slight shoulders 38 are required when it is understood that the blade I! is only approximately .006 of an inch thick. At the lower portion of the bar 25 a notch 40 is provided for engagement with the lug 42 formed integrally in the lower portion of the handle for releasably locking the bar in coextensive relation with the handle. The notched portion of the bar snaps into engagement with the lug 42 and maintains the assembly in an operative position until the lug 38 is pressed to pivot the handle and move the guard 30 together with the blade I1, from the holder head I 2.

In the form of construction shown in Figs. 6 and 7, a hollow ground forged blade is connected to the upper end of a handle 52 by means of a screw 53 upon which the handle is rotatable and which is secured rigidly in the back edge portion of the blade. A spring washer 55 is mounted upon the shank of the screw adjacent the screw head 58 which confines the washer in a recess 51 formed in the rear portion of the handle 52. Beads 58 and bead receiving recesses 59 formed in the opposed faces of the handle and blade adjacent the screw 53 are adapted to snap into engagement with each other under the influence of the resiliency of the washer 55 for the purpose of holding the blade in a shaving position shown in full lines of Fig. 6, or in a sharpening position indicated by the broken lines of this figure.

A bar 60 pivoted intermediate its ends upon a pin 52 carried by an intermediate portion of the handle 52 is provided at one end with a guard 63 which, in the shaving position of the parts, is disposed in proper guarding position adjacent the cutting edge of the blade 50. Beads 65 and recesses 66 formed in the opposed faces of the handle 52 and the bar 60 are operable to snap into engagement with each other when the bar is pivoted to a position coextensively with the handle. The handle and bar yield sufiiciently to permit the beads to'snap into the recesses without injuring the structure.'

When the blade 50 is to be sharpened the bar 60 is pivoted through an angle of 180 from the position shown in full line of Fig. 6 and in this position the guard 63 is disposed beyond the lower portion of the handle where it will not interfere with the sharpening operation of the blade or with the manipulation of the razor incidental to its sharpening. The blade is pivoted to a position longitudinally of the handle 52, as indicated by the broken line of Fig. 6 during the sharpening operation. In this position of the blade an end portion 61 of the bar engages a recess 58 formed in the adjacent blade corner and thus prevents the blade from being accidentally moved from its position for sharpening with respect to the handle. The bar 60 thus performs the double function of supportng the guard 53 for the blade edge and also for locking and holding the blade against pivotal movement. The beads 65 and recesses 66 cooperate in yieldably locking the bar and handle in their sharpening position and also cooperate with the handle portion 68 in holding the blade firmly in the position longitudinally of the handle.

In the form of structure shown in Figs. 8 to 12, a hollow ground forged blade 10 is secured to the upper portion of the handle 12 by means of a machine screw 13 which extends through the handle and is secured in rigid engagement into the back of the blade. The handle is rotatably mounted upon the screw and a resilient washer 15 (Fig. 12) is mounted between the screw head 16 and the bottom of a recess 11 formed in the handle. An annular boss 18 is formed upon the inner face of the handle around the screw 13 and cam lugs 19 are also formed as a part of the boss. This boss extends throughan opening 30 provided in an angular cover plate 82 which covers the back edge of the blade and is secured thereto by means of suitable fastening devices 83 which can be in the form of screws, rivets, welding or the like. A portion of the back of the blade is cut away, as indicated at 05, to receive a portion of the angular plate 82 (Figs. 8 and 10).

The back of the blade I0 underneath the plate 82 is provided with a recess 86 which communicates with grooves B'Iextending to opposite ends of the blade for supporting therein a guard frame 88. In this arrangement the guard frame 88 is substantially in rectangular form and its sides include a guard bar 89 which normally lies adjacent the blade edge to promote safety in shaving. The opposite side of the frame is formed of bearing portions 90 disposed rotatably in the grooves 81 and a central cam portion 92 having a central opening 93 through which the shank of "the screw I3 is loosely disposed joins the bearing portions 90. The cover plate 82 maintains the guard portions 90 snugly in the grooves. The cam portion of the guard has raised surfaces 85 and depressed surfaces 96.

As best shown in the full lines of Fig. 12, the handle 12 and the blade 10 are disposed in shaving position and the cam lugs I9 firmly engage the cam surfaces 95 of the guard and thus lock the latter against movement from a guarding position, that is, from the position shown in the full lines of Figs. 8 and 12. When the handle I2 is turned to a position longitudinally of the handle, as indicated in the broken lines of Fig. 12, the cam lugs I9 register in spaced relation with the depressed surfaces 96 and the guard is free to swing loosely from side to side and in front of the shaving edge of the blade. Then the blade can be sharpened by stropping or by other means, without the guard interfering with this operation.

Beads 91 and recesses 98 formed in the opposing faces of the back of the angular plate 82 and the handle I2 firmly engage and hold the blade either in sharpening position transversely of the handle or in shaving position longitudinally of the handle as shown. The strength of the resilient washer I5 determines the force required to disengage the beads and recesses. Four of these beads, together with complemental recesses, arranged at 45 degree intervals about the axis of the screw I3 have been found to be satisfactory for yieldably locking the blade and handle against relative movement in their different positions of adjustment. Thus the guard is automatically clamped or released by pivoting the blade to positions transversely and longitudinally of the handle.

Referring to the arrangement shown in Figs. 13 to 18, a blade dispensing shaving set I00 is provided with a strip of blades I02 wound therein and also serves as a casing for housing the razor I0. In this arrangement a disc I05 is formed with an annular rib I08 threaded on opposite sides. A casing cap I01 is threaded upon the outer threads and a cup I08 is threaded inside the annular rib. until the bottom of the cup is flush with the surface of the disc I05. A portion of the wall of the cup I08 is offset intermediate its width to provide a circumferential shoulder I09. A disc-like cover IIO for the cup I08 is provided with narrow resilient blade supports II I which can be struck out from the body of the cover IIO to project at right angles to.

the face of the cover. They are then bent substantially at right angles to form fingers II2 for engagement behind the shoulder I09 of the cup. These supports I I I are arranged equidistant from the center of the disc cover III and the strip of razor blades I02 is wound about them before they are inserted into the cup.

Each blade of the strip is defined by the distance between notches II5 which also define the beveled edges H6 corresponding to the edges 36 (Figs. 2 and 4) after the strip is severed or broken along the lines of scoring I I1. Additional notches I I9 opposite the notches I I5 can be formed in the back of the blade strip I02 and when these notches are included the strip can be broken along a transverse line joining the opposite notches regardless of whether or not the strip is scored.

The supports I I I are so spaced that the fingers II2 extend into the notches H5 at intervals around the circumference of the wound strip, and since the blades are very thin, several convolutions can be provided without materially disturbing the substantial registering of the notches in Wound relation of the strip. At any rate, the notches are of suflicient extent to compensate for the slight circumferential offsetting that occurs in the winding of the strip. It has been found that a strip of 25 or more blades can be so wound and held by the fingers extending into the notches. These fingers II2 prevent displacement of the strip of blades and prevent the blade edges from engagement with any part of the cups or disc while the back edge of the blade strip rests upon the face of the disc cover I I0. An edge portion II8 of the cover is bent about the adjacent edge of the cup I08 to facilitate rotation of the cover, together with the strip of blades in the cup I08.

A slot I20 having an upper larger portion I2I to compensate for the offsetting in the wall of the cup I08 for the shoulder I09 extends substantially tangentially from the wall of the cup I08 and is adapted to receive the outer end of the wound blade strip I02. An intermediate portion of the cover disc I I0 is turned inwardly to form a thumb and finger grip I23 which can be manipulated to facilitate turning of the cover disc I I0 relative to the cup I08. The length of the razor I0 is such that it fits snugly into the cap I01 as shown in Figures 14 and 15. Since the strip of blades I02 is resilient the outer end of strip tends to unwind or straighten out and thus automatically enters the slot I20 and extends outside the casing as the cover disc H0 is rotated relative to the cup I08.

It is to be understood that the assembled cup I08 and cover IIO can be used independently as a unit and sold with the strip of blades therein.

Also in utilizing the assembled casing I00, the

unit I08, IIO can be replaced with a strip filled unit when the blades have been exhausted.

In Figs. 16 and 18 there is illustrated a slightly different arrangement for supporting the blade strip I02, in that each blade of the strip is provided with a slot I30 extending longitudinally therein and the fingers II2 are disposed through the registering slots of certain of the blades when they are in wound relation upon the supports I l I Since the slots I30 are relatively long, a greater number of convolutio-ns can be wound and a greater supply of blades can thus be available in a single unit. It is of course to be understood that the supports III are at least slightly resilient, and in assembling the cover I I 0 with the cup I08 the supports are sprung slightly inwardly and forced into the cup I00 until the fingers I I2 snap behind the shoulders I09, about which they are rotatable with the rotatable disc cover IIO.

In dispensing blades from the casing, it is only necessary to turn the cover illl manually in the proper direction and the blade strip is forced through the slot I20. The end blade of the strip can be inserted into the slot I! of the holder either laterally or endwise. Then by imparting a scissor-like movement to the guard bar 25 the cam surface 31 rides upon the lower surface of the blade adjacent the end blade of the strip and presses the latter blade in such manner that' it is bent along the line defining the transverse section between opposite notches H5 and H9 and slot l5. Thus the blade strip breaks along the proper line as it is forced into the angle defined by the upper surface of the arm 30 and the sloping face 34 of the lug 3i. This operation provides for the breaking of the blade from the strip and the positioning of the blade in the holder in a single operation of pivoting the bar 25 from its broken line position to its full line position in Fig. 1. Hence, it is not necessary that the hands touch the blade incidental to its insertion into the holder head. However, if desired, the blade can be broken oif manually and then inserted into the holderfslot i5 in the manner previously described wlth'reference to the operation of the razor structure shown in Figs. 1 to 5. It is apparent that the movement of the bar 25 to an operative position indicates automatically whether theblade is in the proper position. In fact the snapping of the shoulders 38 behind the rear edge of the blade will indicate by the sense of touch that the latter is in its proper position. Close visual examination of the assembled blade and holder is thus not necessary.

From the foregoing description it will be apparent that the safety razor structure is greatly simplified and that the entire assembly of the razor can be manufactured at extremely low cost. Also the blades for the razor can be manufactured very inexpensively and a great proportion of the cost usually involved in wrapping and packing the blades is obviated by the type of strip blades disclosed herein. Although several forms of the invention have been shown and described in detail, it will be apparent to those skilled in the art that the invention is not so limited but that various changes may be made therein without departing from the spirit of the invention or from the scope of the appended claims.

I claim:

1. In a safety razor set, a strip of blades having weakened portions to indicate the junction of individual blades, a circular slotted container normally carrying the strip of blades in wound relation therein, said container having a blade supporting section rotatable relative to the slotted portion of the container, means for anchoring the strip of blades in the supporting section and operable to feed the end of the strip through the slotted portion of the container when the parts of the latter are relatively rotated in one direction.

2. In a safety razor set, a circular slotted container having a disc-like cover rotatably mounted thereon, connecting members on the cover, a strip of blades wound about the connecting members and having its outer end bearing against the inner surface of the container for automatic feeding through said slotted portion in response to relative rotation of the container and cover in one direction, said strip of blades having recessed portions, said connecting members normally engaging the recessed portions of the strip to anchor the latter upon the cover.

3. In a safety razor set, a circular container having a slot formed therein, a disc-like cover rotatably mounted on the container, a casing having a threaded socket and normally carrying the container threaded therein, a plurality of resilient fingers extending from the face of the disc-like cover, a strip of blades wound about the fingers and having its outer end bearing against the wall of the container for extension through the slot therein, said strip having recessed portions releasably engaged by the fingers whereby the strip is fed through the slot in response to relative rotation of the container and disc-like cover in one direction.

4. In a safety razor set, a circular container having 'a slot formed therein, a disc-like cover rotatably mounted on the container, a plurality of resilient fingers extending from the face of the cover, said container having an inner annular shoulder normally receiving the outer ends of the fingers in bearing relation, a strip of blades wound about the fingers and having its outer end bearing against the wall of the container for extension through the slot therein, said strip having slotted portions releasably engaged by the fingers whereby the strip is fed through the slot in response to relative rotation of the container and cover in one direction.

5. In a safety razor set, a circular container having a slotted wall portion, a strip of blades adapted to be wound in a plurality of convolutions, a disc-like member having means for supporting the strip of blades wound thereon and rotatably mounted with respect to the slotted wall portion, the outer convolution of the strip bearing upon the wall of the container for extension through the slotted portion thereof, a. casing having a threaded socket therein and normally carrying the container threaded therein, a cap for the casing and providing therewith a chamber for receiving a safety razor adjacent the container.

6. In a safety razor set, a strip of razor blades having recessed portions, means engaging said recessed portions for supporting the strip of blades with their shaving edges free from contact with any part of the set, and relatively movable mechanism included with said means for progressively feeding the blades of the strip for use-as needed.

'7. In a safety razor set, a circular container having a recess formed in the circumferential wall thereof, a cover rotatably mounted substantially axially with and upon the container, a casing having means interconnecting it with said container to form a unit of casing and container, a plurality of fingers extending from the face of the disk-like cover normally inside the container, a strip of blades wound about the fingers and having its outer strip end bearing against the wall of the container for projection through the recess therein, said strip having recessed portions releasably engaged by the fingers whereby the strip is fed through the recess in the container wall in response to relative rotation of the container and disk-like cover in one direction.

LUKE J. STRAUSS. 

